The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL] Chapter 400: Buried in Layers

What were the odds of a human encountering a red dragon in the wild?

Slim.

Unreasonably slim.

Likely akin to pinpointing one exact second within a span of five months and nine days, succeeding on the very first attempt.

And the chances of surviving such an encounter?

That was even more dire.

To put it concisely, if the probability of a human being struck by lightning throughout an eighty-year lifespan stood at roughly one in fifteen thousand, then a person was easily twenty thousand times more prone to lightning strikes than to surviving an encounter with a red dragon sans external aid.

And this figure didn't even account for a crucial detail.

This particular human had never ventured beyond the immediate vicinity of primarily human settlements.

"..."

"..."

Encountering dragons from other clans was not an impossibility. Rare, certainly, but not unheard of.

Golden dragons, for instance, had earned a new reputation for roaming freely, influenced by a handful of pseudo-humans.

But red dragons?

That presented a different scenario.

Not under the dominion of someone like Lady Seraphyne.

In essence, the perpetrators, including that scoundrel Malrik, had affixed a rather permanent brand upon this red dragon, currently known as Simon Mercer, using the limited runes they could manage.

But why was this action deemed insulting?

It was because the act was not only carried out with clear malicious intent but also in the most crude manner conceivable.

Simon had already committed to collaborating with Riley and Kael. He sought answers, and Riley possessed some to offer after his examination.

Drawing upon knowledge from the Iltherans, he articulated his findings to the red dragon, who was understandably bewildered – and soon to be quite miffed.

"Sealing oneself is relatively straightforward," Riley stated. "However, sealing another dragon presents complexities and typically demands greater resources."

"But as they lacked the capacity for anything more sophisticated, they resorted to a more accessible method. Something they could execute without depending on older, more potent runic systems."

He paused momentarily.

"Well, modern youngsters would probably label that a 'skill issue.'"

"Skill issue...?"

Riley cleared his throat, opting not to elaborate on his slight.

"In layman's terms, they employed a disciplinary seal – the kind clan leaders utilize for minor transgressions. The sort applied when an offense isn't severe enough to warrant escalation to the Dragon Lord."

The aide observed the red dragon's brow begin to crease, comprehension dawning as Riley continued to detail his discoveries.

"It's akin to grounding a child or making them face the wall. Temporary. Intended for later revocation."

His gaze intensified slightly.

"Ideally, encountering a dragon from the same clan would nullify it, signifying the end of the confinement."

A brief silence.

"But in your situation, they were determined to ensure that scenario never occurred until they themselves deemed it necessary..."

Simon's eyes widened.

"So they placed you in a location where no red dragon would ever stumble upon you by chance."

"!!!"

Riley, too, couldn't suppress a sharp, short laugh.

Yet, it stemmed not from amusement.

It was acrid and reeked of indignation.

For the deeper he delved, the more apparent it became how little regard had been given to Simon's existence. His family. All that he had been estranged from. Indeed, it revealed their dismissive attitude towards the golden dragon clan.

All reduced to a mere display of their avarice.

And even more disturbingly—

From Riley's deductions, the seal wasn't even a recent imposition.

It had been in place for years. Certainly not as long as Riley's own seal, but old enough to align with Orien's age.

And while he had undeniably been a young dragon then, by human standards, he was practically ancient. Thus, how long had this red dragon been living as a human?

The black dragon's gaze remained fixed on Simon.

More pertinently, how long had he been existing as Simon Mercer?

And if Riley's assessment was accurate, for how much longer could Simon have sustained such an existence?

Eventually, people would inevitably begin to notice.

A man who showed no signs of aging.

A man who made no effort to decelerate the process, yet remained inexplicably unchanged.

Questions would arise. And when they did—

Would they recapture him?

Erase his memories.

Alter his identity.

Reintroduce him into the world as someone younger.

As if no time had passed.

Riley's jaw clenched as he pressed further.

Regrettably, Riley's intuition proved correct once more as he detected multiple layers of memories sealed away in a distant compartment.

They hadn't even performed the task competently!

To think this individual managed to navigate life while being so mentally fractured!

Riley exhaled slowly, compelling himself to maintain his composure as he regarded Simon.

The man appeared wan.

Lost.

As if the very foundation of his perceived reality had just been ripped away.

"We are not entirely certain of everything just yet," Riley stated, carefully selecting his words. "However, what we can inform you is that you were in the process of being unsealed when your full transformation occurred."

He further explained that this process had placed an immense strain on Simon's body, and considerable time might be needed for him to recover adequately to shift safely once more.

"Therefore, unless you find yourself on the brink of death, our counsel is to remain in your current form while you recuperate."

Simon, appearing quite wan, nodded slowly.

Even if he were inclined to transform, he doubted he possessed any control over such a change. The initial instance had happened entirely against his will.

For starters, the red dragon had no comprehension of how he had been unsealed, considering the nature of the seal that had supposedly been placed upon him.

Riley seemed inclined to elaborate further, but this time, Simon interrupted. "Given everything you’ve relayed, h-how did I become unsealed? I don’t recall encountering a red dragon, let alone making any kind of contact with one."

He had never even observed dragons outside of news reports. Thus, the notion that he might have been in contact with a red dragon, facilitating the commencement of the unsealing, sounded utterly preposterous to him.

He simply sought to ascertain if this had been part of their planned strategy...

Well, that was certainly a question loaded with implications, Riley mused, casting a glance towards his mate. Kael, however, merely gestured with his eyebrows, silently granting Riley permission to speak his mind.

"..."

Riley felt an urge to deliver a well-placed knee to his beloved mate for such a display of support.

Yet, in all honesty, the answer wasn not particularly straightforward—they possessed no definitive confirmation either. While they harbored a speculative guess that bordered on the extraordinary, it remained, for the most part, a hypothesis that sounded utterly ludicrous.

However, should Kael's earlier intuition prove correct regarding their prior encounter influencing the unsealing, then a significant reevaluation of the children would indeed become necessary.

Despite this, he could not simply blurt out the information immediately.

For one thing, he did not wish to cloud Simon's judgment or impair his memory, particularly now, when he was contemplating attempting the unsealing process for others as well.

"That is something we will also need to investigate. Similar to your situation, we are not entirely certain," Riley stated.

"But what we can assert is that you were... fortunate."

Simon's brow furrowed slightly.

"Fortunate?"

"Indeed," Riley responded, acknowledging internally that to Simon, his words likely sounded rather tactless and difficult to believe.

"You see, if the unsealing had not already initiated, then when they came for you..."

His expression grew noticeably colder.

"That assailant who attempted to abduct you from your residence would have succeeded with considerable ease. You would not have possessed the capability to retaliate," Riley continued.

The inability to detect an approaching individual—someone clearly aware of his whereabouts—was a substantial problem in itself.

And that did not even account for how effortlessly he would have been overwhelmed when confronting an opponent of that caliber.

"And had that scenario unfolded, rather than being treated as an independent entity for retribution, you would have been utilized as both a hostage AND a pawn, entirely unbeknownst to you."

"Huh? A hostage?" Simon inquired. "For what purpose?"

Riley could readily grasp Simon's bewilderment.

From his vantage point, none of it seemed logical. His status was ambiguous, his predicament dire, and nothing about him felt significant enough to warrant involvement in something as consequential as a hostage situation.

But therein lay the crux of the matter.

He remained uninformed.

"Regarding that specific point," Riley said, his tone casual yet pointed, "wouldn't you be interested in knowing?"

"!"

Well—

At this juncture, who wouldn't be?

Simon could no longer maintain a pretense of ignorance. Not when his entire reality had been irrevocably altered. Not when he found himself immersed in circumstances he couldn't comprehend.

Acquiring any piece of knowledge, however small, felt preferable to remaining in utter darkness.

"I—I would certainly like to know," Simon stated, his voice strained. "But how is that possible?"

Riley offered no hesitation.

"Your memories," he replied. "Multiple layers of them were sealed concurrently with your draconic nature."

"We can attempt to unseal them, which may allow you to comprehend what has transpired with you thus far."

"However, I must caution you beforehand: the process could be extraordinarily agonizing. Furthermore, there is no certainty of its success."

Simon regarded the Dragon Lord's aide, pondering why a human spoke with such conviction, as if recounting a personal experience.

But wasn't that an utterly absurd notion?

Ultimately, the red dragon concluded that the aide was simply exceptionally skilled at his profession—adept at conveying genuine sympathy when the situation demanded it.

He took a moment to contemplate the ramifications, flexing and unflexing his hands.

Throughout this period, Simon had been in a constant internal struggle, perpetually sensing an underlying wrongness within himself, while others insisted he was perfectly fine.

But now, realizing he had been correct all along... for reasons he couldn't quite articulate, he found his emotions in disarray.

He was, in a word, overwhelmed.